Skift Take
Alaska paused nationwide departures after discovering an issue when performing an upgrade to its system that calculates weight and balance. The ground stop expired at 11:30 a.m. ET.
Alaska Airlines has now resumed flights after experiencing an IT issue on Wednesday.
As of 11:30 a.m. ET, Alaska said the ground stop expired, and added that residual delays throughout the day could be expected.
“The issue was mitigated and the ground stop for Alaska and Horizon flights expired at 8:30am PT,” Alaska said in a statement. “We have begun releasing flights. Residual delays are expected throughout the day.”
As of noon, the FAA said: “Operations are normal after Alaska Airlines asked the FAA to pause departures nationwide.”
Earlier on Wednesday, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a temporary ground stop of nationwide Alaska Airlines flights due to an IT issue.
Alaska said the ground stop also affected Horizon Air, a regional carrier that is also a subsidiary of the company.
“This morning we experienced an issue while performing an upgrade to the system that calculates our weight and balance,” Alaska said in a statement. “A ground stop for all Alaska and Horizon flights was instituted at approximately 7:50am PT. We’re working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”
The FAA said Alaska asked the agency to pause its mainline departures nationwide after it learned of the IT issue.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
